When looking at quarterbacks, I prefer to take more of an apples-to-apples approach. If you look at just last year, it discriminates against those who missed time with injuries. So let’s instead look at the last 16 starts for quarterbacks – how they fared in their last full season worth of work.
For this one, I’m looking only at quarterbacks expected to start on opening day. Three teams are going with younger quarterbacks, so they’re not represented (Broncos, Rams, Texans). The Browns also probably will start an inexperienced youngster, but there’s a chance Brock Osweiler will be their starter, so I’m tossing him in there (unlike Cody Kessler, Osweiler has started more than 16 career games).
These guys aren’t in fantasy order. No rushing stats are listed. Instead on this one, they’re listed by their NFL passer rating (a combination of completion percentage, touchdown and interception rates, and average gain per pass play.
Five quarterbacks have ratings over 100. Dak Prescott (who had the big rookie season) and four of the proven veterans: Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.
Half of the quarterbacks in the bottom 10 are highly regarded passers you might think would be higher: Cam Newton, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Jameis Winston and Carson Palmer.
The average of these 29 quarterbacks: 4,093 yards (256 per game), with 25 TDs and 12 interceptions.
| QUARTERBACKS: LAST 16 STARTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| Matt Ryan | 70% | 4,944 | 38 | 7 | 117.1 |
| Tom Brady | 67% | 4,412 | 33 | 3 | 109.5 |
| Dak Prescott | 68% | 3,667 | 23 | 4 | 104.9 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 66% | 4,428 | 40 | 7 | 104.2 |
| Drew Brees | 70% | 5,208 | 37 | 15 | 101.7 |
| Sam Bradford | 72% | 4,197 | 22 | 6 | 99.9 |
| Kirk Cousins | 67% | 4,917 | 25 | 12 | 97.2 |
| Andrew Luck | 63% | 4,492 | 33 | 13 | 96.5 |
| Derek Carr | 64% | 4,131 | 29 | 7 | 95.6 |
| Marcus Mariota | 61% | 3,458 | 26 | 9 | 95.2 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 65% | 4,388 | 32 | 17 | 94.0 |
| Matthew Stafford | 65% | 4,327 | 24 | 10 | 93.3 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 67% | 3,890 | 21 | 13 | 93.2 |
| Russell Wilson | 65% | 4,219 | 21 | 11 | 92.6 |
| Andy Dalton | 65% | 4,206 | 18 | 8 | 91.8 |
| Alex Smith | 67% | 3,658 | 17 | 10 | 90.3 |
| Tyrod Taylor | 62% | 3,205 | 17 | 6 | 89.2 |
| Philip Rivers | 60% | 4,386 | 33 | 21 | 87.9 |
| Brian Hoyer | 61% | 3,757 | 21 | 10 | 86.1 |
| Carson Palmer | 60% | 4,362 | 27 | 15 | 86.1 |
| Jameis Winston | 61% | 4,090 | 28 | 18 | 86.1 |
| Eli Manning | 63% | 4,027 | 26 | 16 | 86.0 |
| Mike Glennon | 58% | 3,438 | 25 | 12 | 85.4 |
| Joe Flacco | 65% | 4,317 | 20 | 15 | 83.5 |
| Josh McCown | 59% | 3,888 | 21 | 14 | 81.9 |
| Carson Wentz | 62% | 3,782 | 16 | 14 | 79.3 |
| Cam Newton | 55% | 3,762 | 20 | 14 | 78.9 |
| Blake Bortles | 59% | 3,905 | 23 | 16 | 78.8 |
| Brock Osweiler | 60% | 3,235 | 16 | 18 | 73.8 |
—Ian Allan